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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: stem · fall · rest · cue · face · field · craft · hand

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. hand — help
  3. hand — in cards
  4. stem — to come from
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. field — farmland
  7. fall — to drop
  8. craft — a skill
  9. cue — a signal
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. cue — for pool
  12. field — for sport
  13. face — part of the head
  14. cue — a hint
  15. rest — a break
  16. rest — what's left
  17. fall — to drop
  18. rest — what's left
  19. field — a subject
  20. craft — boats
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. face — to point toward
  24. fall — the season

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com